Truth about the Absolute Truth

Today’s world is characterized by freedom of expression. Gradually all kind of censoring is going away, subtly at first, blatantly later. All notions of right and wrong are becoming personalized – What I like is good. Period. No other consideration. I don’t poke my nose in others’ life, so I expect that no one should poke theirs in mine. Such freedom of expression has also made its way into notions about spirituality. Spirituality is about the Absolute Truth, which does not depend on personal preferences. However, today, even spiritual conclusions have become a matter of choice, rather than a matter of fact.

In such a relativistic environment, when some spiritual organization asserts their path to be superior to that of others, it’s seen as a clear case of blatant fundamentalism. But, one would do well by taking a step back and evaluating a spiritual path on its profoundness rather than on how it fits into ones current lifestyle. Since spirituality talks about the unchanging Absolute Truth, it’s up to the human beings to align themselves to that unchangeable Absolute Truth, rather than making the foolish and imaginary attempt at changing the unchangeable.

The understanding that spirituality talks about an Absolute Truth which is independent of all personal preferences should make a sincere seeker seek out for that Truth, rather than trying to just reason about it. What’s the guarantee that whatever conclusion his reasoning takes him to is actually the Absolute Truth? Therefore, the scriptures tell about another procedure to approach the Absolute Truth. It does not preclude logic and reasoning, but gives it a particular direction. We will talk about that procedure a little later (look for *).

The scriptures of all wisdom-traditions point us to the Absolute Truth. Not all of them describe the Absolute Truth to the same degree. And sometimes, their conclusions seem to differ. The difference can be understood to be one of two types. Either one conclusion is higher than the lower, and therefore includes the lower one; or one conclusion is actually incompatible with other. Now, if we make a hierarchy of the various conclusions of the different spiritual paths, we must end up with one topmost path which includes the conclusions of all others in that hierarchy. The conclusion of this topmost path thus will most closely represent the Absolute Truth. However, it’s possible that there might still be some other paths whose conclusions are not compatible with the highest in the hierarchy we just described. This means that this left out path neither includes all the conclusions of the others, nor are all its conclusions included in any other.

Since the Absolute Truth must include all conclusions, if we have more than one conclusion claiming to be the Absolute Truth, then only one of them is actually the Absolute Truth, and all others are either bogus, or included in the actual Absolute Truth.

(*) The procedure talked about in the scriptures is one of sincerely following the instructions of the scriptures under the guidance of one who has realized their conclusions. Since the conclusions of any spiritual path are well-known before hand, a practitioner can clearly verify whether his practice is leading him to the same realizations as those claimed by the path.

Now, one may wonder, that by following any one of the scriptures, one can only reach up to the realizations mentioned by that particular scripture. What if there are even higher realizations than that offered by the particular path he is following? This natural question clearly supports the notion that there can be different scriptures which proffer different levels of spiritual realizations to the practitioner and that one path can definitely be higher than the other.

This discussion might prompt one to hastily declare that since there is a possibility of realizations higher than those offered by even the highest conclusions known yet, why not leave aside the scriptures and try one’s own way? This is certainly an intelligent enquiry, but one which is easily answered when one hears the nature of the Absolute Truth from highly elevated souls who have realized the Absolute Truth as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna.

The Absolute Truth is defined as the source of everything, and of whom there is no source. The Absolute Truth is the supremely independent entity who does not depend on anything else for His existence; on the contrary, everything else depends on Him for its existence. The Absolute Truth is the fountainhead and the supreme controller of everything, including the power of reasoning. No other definition of the Absolute Truth can better this one, and hence, any path that leads one to the realization of such an Absolute Truth can be considered the highest of all.

The Vaishnavas realize this Absolute Truth as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna. The Vedic scriptures, especially the Bhagavad Gita and the Srimad Bhagavatam, declare Sri Krishna as the Absolute Truth (param satya). No other scripture of the world describes the Absolute Truth in such detail and clarity as do the Vedic scriptures. At the same time, the theistic conclusions of all theistic wisdom-traditions are included in the spiritual path of the Vaishnavas, known as the Bhagavat Dharma.

Even the conclusions of the impersonalist spiritual paths (who claim the Absolute Truth to be an undifferentiated entity with no attributes) are included in the Vaishnava conclusion of the Supreme Person as the Absolute Truth. This is because the Vaishnavas don’t deny the impersonal undifferentiated entity which is the goal of the impersonalist, but on the contrary describe it as an emanation from the Supreme Person, just like sunrays are an emanation of the sun. The sun is clearly superior to the sunrays, being their source.

But what about the non-theistic conclusions of some of the popular wisdom-traditions like Buddhism? The Buddhist conclusion is that ultimately there is nothing. Since the Absolute Truth is the source of everything, and surely something exists (at least the power of reasoning that “nothing exists” exists), and that nothing can come out of “nothing”, the Absolute Truth must surely not be “nothing”. Moreover, the Vaishnavas have positively realized the Absolute Truth as Sri Krishna, and they don’t have to go into a long philosophical debate to convince themselves of that. A man who can see does not have to prove to himself that the sun exists, and the blind man with his own ability can only reach up to the conclusion that there is no such thing as light. On the other hand, how can one realize that actually there is “nothing”? Similarly, some others might claim that actually there is no God. But again, on what grounds can one insist that an entity does not exist when someone else has actually realized the existence of that entity?

By exercising ones mental muscles, one can only reach up to the understanding of impersonalism. This is because material mind and senses cannot conceive of a personality as Supremely powerful as Sri Krishna. Impersonalism essentially boils down to saying that ultimately everything just exists and there is no one supreme entity independent and superior to all other existence. In other words, all entities that exist must just be manifestations and parts of the sum total of everything that exists. And this sum total of everything that exists is the Absolute Truth. Even though voidism (e.g. Buddhism) sounds a bit different in its conclusion, as far as comparison with Vaishnavism goes, for all practical purposes, it’s the same as impersonalism. This is because it doesn’t allow for the existence of a Supreme entity who is the source of everything, and of whom there is no source. In fact, voidism doesn’t allow for the existence of anything! Thus, both impersonalism and voidism are a result of not being able to reach the conclusion of a Supreme Person being the Absolute Truth. Since its not possible to reach the Vaishnav conclusion by one’s own mental speculation, what possibility is there of reaching a higher conclusion than Vaishnavism just by the power of logic and reasoning?

The Vaishnavas have realized the Absolute Truth to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna, and therefore, any other conclusion about the nature of the Absolute Truth must either include the Vaishnava conclusion, or be included by it. If not, we can safely reject it as bogus. One has no right (and means) to deny that the Vaishnavas have actually realized the Absolute Truth to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna. One can only judge one’s own conclusion against the Vaishnav one. And better still, one can give up ones mental speculation and accept the lofty Vaishnav conclusion and earn a chance to someday come face to face with the Absolute Truth, who is not an unreciprocating impersonal entity, nor is who “nothing”, but who is the supremely beautiful and loving Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna.

Janmashtami Realizations 2009

As I was finishing my 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra today, I was thinking about 12noon. That was the time I would break my fast. Today is Nandotsav, and also the appearance day of His Divine Grace Srila AC BhaktiVedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder Acharya of ISKCON, and the savior of the whole world. Yesterday was Sri Janmashtami, the appearance day of Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Yesterday I fasted till midnight and also chanted 32 rounds of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. Meanwhile, I have been reading the biography by HH BhaktiVikasa Swami Maharaj of His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupada, the gurudev of Srila AC BhaktiVedanta Swami Prabhupada. All these spiritual activities in the last 48 hours have given me a few realizations. Here they are.

(1)

I chanted 32 rounds yesterday more easily than I chant my 16 rounds every day. Earlier this year on Gour Pournima I managed to chant 64 rounds despite not being fully fit. Again, quite miraculously, I could do so more easily than the daily 16 rounds. For me, this is quite solid proof that mercy plays a most important role in execution of our spiritual practices. And that on Madhava Tithis (special days related to Madhava, Krishna) the Lord is especially merciful on the prayerful devotee. How else can I explain the ease with which I chanted so many rounds on these days? Can anyone explain this mechanistically? Just for those who would start trying to do so, let me state clearly that it was not any special mental adjustment on my part. All I did was a brief prayer to the Lord that “let me chant these many rounds today”. I say this prayer almost daily, but the effect is never as it is on these Madhava Tithis.

(2)

Fasting reveals how much we are sense controlled, or how much we are not sense controlled. Yesterday, on Janmashtami, time and again, my mind went ahead to midnight, after which I would honor Ekadashi Prasadam. But, it was more about what I would honor than just the fact that I would honor some Prasadam item. This shows how my tongue is hankering for palatable dishes. If those dishes are easily available, we don’t consider how much we hanker for them. But when we fast, these things are revealed. So, I have a long way to go in controlling my tongue.

I read in the Sri Bhakti Siddhanta Vaibhav (the biography of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupada) that during his vow of chanting one billion names of the Lord, he used to only eat plain rice cooked by his own hands once a day. No spices or anything else. Here was a real-life example of what a perfect transcendentalist is – one who has controlled the urges of his senses.

(3)

I replaced the newspaper from the hands of my grandmother with the Krishna Book. After some time she was very excited about what she had just read. She had already read the Krishna Book once, but she told me, “How beautifully Vasudev is explaining to Kamsa about things… I don’t remember reading all this the first time I read this book!” I told her that this is the way with all transcendental literature, and what to speak of the crest jewel of all of them, Grantha Raj Srimad Bhagavatam. And the Krishna Book is the 10th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, and its sweetest part. Sri Krishna thus showed special mercy on my grandmother this Janmashtami. And my Mom has started reading the Krishna Book too! Jai!

Srila Prabhupada Ki Jai!
Sri Krishna Janmashtami Ki Jai!

Yearning for Eagerness in Vrindavan

(Sri Sri Krishna Balaram)

November 01, 2008

The train chugged its way into the railway station. It was 0650. For those present outside the train on the railway station platform, this was not the most awaited moment of the century. For many who were inside the train, this was a long awaited moment, at least for those who considered the wait from the start of their train journey to its end a long wait. And for others like me, this was one of the most special moments in our lives. Around five thousand years ago, the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna chose to appear on this earth to relieve it off the burden of evil. And this was the place he chose to appear. Mathura.

It was my first visit to Mathura. As soon as I alighted from the train, I fell flat like a stick to offer my respects. I like to do this. I like to forget all concerns for petty things like keeping my clothes spotlessly clean when it comes to following my heart. While this is not always possible in the “civilized” society, who can blame me if I do this as an offering to the Lord, especially in His holy dham, especially when I have arrived there just to do that – to offer my heart to Krishna in the hope that He will steal it away and never return it back.

It’s difficult to describe what I was feeling, simply because I was myself not sure. Instead of theorizing what I should be feeling, I just decided to soak it all in. On the alert, I tried to devour by my eyes and ears as much as possible. The sun had just arisen on the horizon and was greeting us a warm welcome from across the vast fields. Men wearing saffron robes – sadhus – were very much part of the scene. On seeing them, I tightened my mental muscles and reminded myself not to offend, even mentally, the residents of the dham. They are all, sadhus or not, very dear to Krishna, and Krishna has granted them special residence in his own special home – Mathura.

But Mathura was not my final destination. Along with a few other devotees who had travelled in the same train, we sat in a sawari-rikshaw (in principle, a cab) and proceeded to the most holy place in the universe – Sri Vrindavan Dham. We rattled along through the city of Mathura. We passed by Krishna Janma Bhumi (birth place of Sri Krishna), which shares a common wall with a big mosque. I saw hoardings all over the place advertizing discourses on the Srimad Bhagavatam. I saw cows accepting eatables (most probably it was Krishna Prasad) at the doorsteps of small houses lining narrow streets. Everything reminded me of Krishna.

After a 15Km trip, we reached Sri Dham Vrindavan. The rikshaw stopped. I asked the devotees whether we are supposed to get down here. As soon as I got down, I offered my heartfelt dandavats to the Holy Dham and made sure I don’t brush off the dust from my clothes when I stood up. To be smeared by the dust of Sri Vrindavan Dham is a sure-shot way to attaining the most cherished spiritual goal - of unalloyed love for Krishna. At the beginning of each day of my trip, my kurta started off pristine white and at the end of the day the front was more or less brown. All day I was just looking for opportunities to fall flat on the ground in supplication.

(A view of Sri Sri Krishna Balaram Mandir)

After getting up, I looked around trying to figure out exactly where I was. Bewildered, I asked a devotee and he replied “Krishna Balaram Mandir”. What? Where? My eyes frantically darted around trying to find the temple. About 25-30 yards ahead, on the left of the road, stood the beautiful Krishna Balaram Temple, also known as the “Angrezon Ka Mandir” (Foreigners’ Temple) in and around Vrindavan. Srila Prabhupada’s western disciples created quite a stir when they first came to Vrindavan with Prabhupada. Foreigners were not supposed to know the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna. He was exclusively the property of India, and even more exclusively, of Vrindavan. Well, all that changed when Krishna’s pure devotee Srila Prabhupada, on the order of his Gurudev, Srila Bhakti Siddhant Saraswati (another pure devotee), gave Krishna to the whole world in accordance with the desire of Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who is none other than Sri Krishna.

(The courtyard)

As I entered the front gate, I crossed the Samadhi of Srila Prabhupada and offered dandavats. As I moved forward, I came to a big gate. On one side of it a doorman was pulling on a big rope to ring a big bell somewhere above. I asked him if I could ring it too. No, is what he replied, in such a tone that all further communication was impossible. As soon as I entered the gate, something happened. I just couldn’t keep ambling anymore. Something (someone?) within me impelled me to run. I ran. Down the steps, onto the courtyard, across the courtyard, up the steps, into the main temple room. There I was, my heart throbbing in anticipation, eyes searching for that sight, of Sri Sri Krishna Balaram! There I beheld, one at a time, Sri Sri Krishna Balaram, Sri Sri Gaur Nitai, and Sri Sri Radha Shyamsunder. I offered dandavats and prayers before each of them. I was so happy, and my trip was already a success. I had just tasted a drop of Krishna Prem.

(Sri Sri Radha Shyamsunder)

Ever since, time and again, I remember those lovely moments. How I had run for taking darshan of Their Lordships. How eager was I to just behold them. My heart yearns for the time when my whole existence will be made up of only such moments - of intense eagerness for Sri Sri Radha Shyamsunder.